This is how to connect the Blockchain community of Eindhoven

ROUNDTABLE BRAINSTORM

As our community grows, the demands become more disparate and we are striving to decide on our roadmap for the next events. Will it be more specific hands-on workshops on dapps? Shall we do a back to basics meetup to bring everyone to the same level and refresh our knowledge? Do our members like to have a monthly lightweight social meetups? Expert speakers or interactive conversation?

Dear blockchain community of Eindhoven,

We live in exciting times. Blockchain, Bitcoin and related buzzwords are no longer reserved for a handful of nerds or experimental libertarians. No; the vision of Satoshi Nakamote to have a ‘decentralized peer-to-peer payment network’ is far beyond just an idea. Supply chain, banking and value exchange in general is being tested upto its fundamentals.

Eindhoven is known for its high tech companies like ASML and NXP, the region of Brainport is considered the ‘smartest region in the world’ with the High Tech Campus and TU/e building on a hightech future. So it’s no surprise this city in the south of the Netherlands is curious about the vision of Bitcoin and how Blockchain as a technology can claim its place in society.

We want to connect with other blockchain enthusiasts and facilitate us meeting up and exchanges experiences and ideas on howto bring it further.

What was this evening about?

What

Roundtable brainstorm session

Who

A group of 10 people, each with their own expertise and role within the blockchain ecosphere (education, tech, business, crypto trading/exchange).

Location

Kazerne in Eindhoven

When?

Tu 30th Oct 2018 at 19:30

Agenda

Roughly we had the following agenda set:

19:30 Welcome and who is who?

20:00 Split in 2 groups and have an open conversation

21:15 Combine into 1 group, share insights and discuss next steps

21:30 Drinks and continue the conversation

So, thanks for coming to our roundtable discussion about “bridging blockchain eindhoven”, we would like your input on howto collaborate with Brainport.

Allard Couwenberg (co-host bridging.tech)

What do we see happening in Blockchain internationally?

What about Satoshi’s vision of a decentralized peer-to-peer payment network?

Include the non-banked in digital payments (and more freedom)

Fight the unrealistic undemocratic trade conditions for poorer areas

Web monetization is a thing; pay for attention and value for data

Enable people to: control data, get rid of the banks and claim transparency

“The Hyperledgers of this world will work”

“Fintech is moving to crypto”

“Many companies are afraid for honesty and transparency”

“I don’t care about coins, I care for permissioned blockchains”

What can we do with/for Blockchain closer to home, in Eindhoven and Brainport?

Search for systems that work on a smaller scale

Thers is more knowledge about blockchain now than there was a few years ago

Every company want to ‘join’ a thing, but non want to be the first to start it

Each company has their own lab and POCs but collaboration is low

A proof of concept is NOT is working use-case

Build a POC from the bottom up and take initiative, do no wait for government and big companies because they benefit from stalling or blocking the movement.

Provide and join trainings. One of attendees facilitates a 6-day training for blockchain consultants. Mostly joined by unemployed engineers because they have time to invest in learning new techniques.

What are important elements in order to stay connected and build a community?

You need content to keep a small social-media group active

How to stay connected? Discord, slack, whatsapp?

This group should come together more often and exchange experiences

Tell each other more about what we do

Create a topic shortlist

Vote on topics by the community

Ideal meetup format: 1 speaker (20 minutes) and have a discussion in small groups